WASHINGTON (AP) ? Family members of the suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings who died in a shootout with authorities say that the suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev (tsahr-NEYE'-ehv), had fallen under the influence of a Muslim convert who steered the religiously apathetic young man toward a strict strain of Islam.
His family says that, under the tutelage of a friend known to the Tsarnaev family only as Misha (MEE-sha), Tamerlan gave up boxing and stopped studying music. He began opposing the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and turned to websites and literature claiming that the CIA was behind the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and that Jews controlled the world.
Tamerlan's uncle, Ruslan Tsarni, tells The Associated Press that the mysterious friend, quote, "just took his brain."
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Officials said they were happy with the Army Corps of Engineers? performance in removing the rubble from Hurricane Sandy, but private contractors might have been less expensive.
FreedomPop has been promising to bring mostly free 4G internet access to the masses for over a year now, but those ambitions have been hampered by partner Clearwire's spotty WiMax coverage -- there are sizable swaths of the country where you just can't get service. That won't be the case for much longer though, as FreedomPop has just started taking orders its first Sprint-friendly wireless hotspot.
Johnny Rotten was acting pretty, well, rotten. The former lead singer of the Sex Pistols (real name John Lydon) got into hot water after telling a female host on the Australian talk show "The Project" on Channel Ten to "shut up when a man is talking" when she cut in with a question about the death of Margaret Thatcher.
Oh yeah, he went there.
(Note: Brief language, bleeped out, in video.)
NEWS: White House responds to Jay-Z's "Open Letter"
"Hey, hey missus, shut up, whoever you are, shut up, shut up, shut up," Rotten told anchor Carrie Bickmore. "Now listen, when a man is talking do not interrupt."
Bickmore tried her best to play it off and continue with the interview, but the rocker didn't let it slide, telling her, "Stop it. You sound like one of them dreadful loud birds I don't like."
She then proceeded to call him offensive, and Johnny responded with, "So are you when you do that. You have to learn what manners and respect is."
After the interview was over, Bickmore said the celeb was "d--- rude" and fellow reporter Andrew Rochford added, "He was a flat-out sexist, misogynist pig."
The singer's comments quickly spread and attracted backlash in Australia, but he argued his defense by saying, "It's quite clear to me I'm not a sexist and I'm not a misogynist," and added that if someone interrupts "you are going to have to say something at some point, whether it be male or female."
Apr. 11, 2013 ? The Maya are famous for their complex, intertwined calendric systems, and now one calendar, the Maya Long Count, is empirically calibrated to the modern European calendar, according to an international team of researchers.
"The Long Count calendar fell into disuse before European contact in the Maya area," said Douglas J. Kennett, professor of environmental archaeology, Penn State.
"Methods of tying the Long Count to the modern European calendar used known historical and astronomical events, but when looking at how climate affects the rise and fall of the Maya, I began to question how accurately the two calendars correlated using those methods."
The researchers found that the new measurements mirrored the most popular method in use, the Goodman-Martinez-Thompson (GMT) correlation, initially put forth by Joseph Goodman in 1905 and subsequently modified by others. In the 1950s scientists tested this correlation using early radiocarbon dating, but the large error range left open the validity of GMT.
"With only a few dissenting voices, the GMT correlation is widely accepted and used, but it must remain provisional without some form of independent corroboration," the researchers report in today's (April 11) issue of Scientific Reports.
A combination of high-resolution accelerator mass spectrometry carbon-14 dates and a calibration using tree growth rates showed the GMT correlation is correct.
The Long Count counts days from a mythological starting point. The date is composed of five components that combine a multiplier times 144,000 days -- Bak'tun, 7,200 days -- K'atun, 360 days -- Tun, 20 days -- Winal, and 1 day -- K'in separated, in standard notation, by dots.
Archaeologists want to place the Long Count dates into the European calendar so there is an understanding of when things happened in the Maya world relative to historic events elsewhere. Correlation also allows the rich historical record of the Maya to be compared with other sources of environmental, climate and archaeological data calibrated using the European calendar.
The samples came from an elaborately carved wooden lintel or ceiling from a temple in the ancient Maya city of Tikal, Guatemala, that carries a carving and dedication date in the Maya calendar. This same lintel was one of three analyzed in the previous carbon-14 study.
Researchers measured tree growth by tracking annual changes in calcium uptake by the trees, which is greater during the rainy season.
The amount of carbon-14 in the atmosphere is incorporated into a tree's incremental growth. Atmospheric carbon-14 changes through time, and during the Classic Maya period oscillated up and down.
The researchers took four samples from the lintel and used annually fluctuating calcium concentrations evident in the incremental growth of the tree to determine the true time distance between each by counting the number of elapsed rainy seasons. The researchers used this information to fit the four radiocarbon dates to the wiggles in the calibration curve. Wiggle-matching the carbon-14 dates provided a more accurate age for linking the Maya and Long Count dates to the European calendars.
These calculations were further complicated by known differences in the atmospheric radiocarbon content between northern and southern hemisphere.
"The complication is that radiocarbon concentrations differ between the southern and northern hemisphere," said Kennett. "The Maya area lies on the boundary, and the atmosphere is a mixture of the southern and northern hemispheres that changes seasonally. We had to factor that into the analysis."
The researchers results mirror the GMT European date correlations indicating that the GMT was on the right track for linking the Long Count and European calendars.
Events recorded in various Maya locations "can now be harmonized with greater assurance to other environmental, climatic and archaeological datasets from this and adjacent regions and suggest that climate change played an important role in the development and demise of this complex civilization," the researchers wrote.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Penn State. The original article was written by A'ndrea Elyse Messer.
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Journal Reference:
Douglas J. Kennett, Irka Hajdas, Brendan J. Culleton, Soumaya Belmecheri, Simon Martin, Hector Neff, Jaime Awe, Heather V. Graham, Katherine H. Freeman, Lee Newsom, David L. Lentz, Flavio S. Anselmetti, Mark Robinson, Norbert Marwan, John Southon, David A. Hodell, Gerald H. Haug. Correlating the Ancient Maya and Modern European Calendars with High-Precision AMS 14C Dating. Scientific Reports, 2013; 3 DOI: 10.1038/srep01597
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Marketing research offers prescription for better nutritionPublic release date: 10-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jamie Hanlon jamie.hanlon@ualberta.ca 780-492-9214 University of Alberta
Consumer data show decisions people make after being diagnosed with conditions like diabetes may lead to higher health risks
It may seem counter-intuitive to take health advice from a marketing professor, but when it comes to analyzing consumer data and its relationship to managing health issues such as diabetes, one University of Alberta researcher may have the right prescription.
In a paper recently published in the Journal of Marketing, Alberta School of Business professor Yu Ma uncovered information that has implications for health-care professionals, marketers and consumers alike. He says the data on consumer spending contain streams of information showing that decisions consumers make after being diagnosed with a major health issue like diabetes may seem sound on the outside, but actually expose them to greater health risks. And although education related to disease and proper nutrition should be a major driver of changing habits, Ma says it ranks far lower than another critical factor that could affect the waistline and the bottom line.
"The second-largest factorand only slightly less influential than eating habitsis price. If the price is cheap, they're going to buy that (food item)," he said. "There are lots of things you can do just by changing the price of healthy food."
Changes: Hyperfocusing and the halo effect
Ma's data analysis shows that after a diagnosis of diabetes, patients tend to down the sugary beverages and foods that put them at risk for problems. Yet, while being hyper-vigilant with these choices, they tend to load up on other foods high in sodium or fattwo ingredients that could increase their chances of heart disease or high blood pressure. The key for people with diabetes, he says, is to consult a health-care professional about all foods that pose risks, both now and in the future.
Ma says the other critical factor is that people have a tendency to divide foods into two groups: healthy and unhealthy. In doing so, they tend to over-consume foods in the healthy column.
"What we found is that people paid too much attention to categorization, but they failed to monitor how much of those healthy alternatives they actually take in," said Ma. "It's what we call the health halo effect."
Food for thought: Is healthy eating too expensive?
Ma says it might not be a lack of wanting to eat healthier that drives people to unhealthy foods. Instead, the cost of making the switch may be the biggest hurdle. He says some choices come down to issues of education, such as switching from soft drinks to diet drinks or avoiding fruit juices. But he notes that purchasing and consuming more fruits and veggies or organic foods is not an option for consumers in all income brackets. Ma says that lack of access to better nutritional choiceswhich can also be reinforced by what is available from local storesis difficult to overcome. He says people may think middle-class consumers can easily afford to switch, but the price difference from the healthy option to the "next best thing" can be significant once the whole food bill is totalled up.
"If you compare the price of healthy, whole-grain bread versus regular white bread, there's a cost increase between them," he said. "Sometimes, if you have a family to feed, it's hard to justify the price difference."
People first, profit second?
The goal of businesses is to maximize their profit by marketing and selling their product to target groups. However, Ma says, it comes down to an issue of needs and wants, especially when the need to change eating habits is necessary to stay alive. Health should not be at a premium, he says, and if marketers looked at a bigger, socially responsible picture, they may see the many benefits that would come from lowering their prices and making their products available to broader markets. He says companies may make less profit per customer, but making more money overall would go hand in hand with enhanced brand identity and recognition.
"They might have to sacrifice some short-term profit, but once they build up their brand name, and the goodwill in the consumer's mind, then it's a win-win for the customers and the company in the long run."
###
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Marketing research offers prescription for better nutritionPublic release date: 10-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jamie Hanlon jamie.hanlon@ualberta.ca 780-492-9214 University of Alberta
Consumer data show decisions people make after being diagnosed with conditions like diabetes may lead to higher health risks
It may seem counter-intuitive to take health advice from a marketing professor, but when it comes to analyzing consumer data and its relationship to managing health issues such as diabetes, one University of Alberta researcher may have the right prescription.
In a paper recently published in the Journal of Marketing, Alberta School of Business professor Yu Ma uncovered information that has implications for health-care professionals, marketers and consumers alike. He says the data on consumer spending contain streams of information showing that decisions consumers make after being diagnosed with a major health issue like diabetes may seem sound on the outside, but actually expose them to greater health risks. And although education related to disease and proper nutrition should be a major driver of changing habits, Ma says it ranks far lower than another critical factor that could affect the waistline and the bottom line.
"The second-largest factorand only slightly less influential than eating habitsis price. If the price is cheap, they're going to buy that (food item)," he said. "There are lots of things you can do just by changing the price of healthy food."
Changes: Hyperfocusing and the halo effect
Ma's data analysis shows that after a diagnosis of diabetes, patients tend to down the sugary beverages and foods that put them at risk for problems. Yet, while being hyper-vigilant with these choices, they tend to load up on other foods high in sodium or fattwo ingredients that could increase their chances of heart disease or high blood pressure. The key for people with diabetes, he says, is to consult a health-care professional about all foods that pose risks, both now and in the future.
Ma says the other critical factor is that people have a tendency to divide foods into two groups: healthy and unhealthy. In doing so, they tend to over-consume foods in the healthy column.
"What we found is that people paid too much attention to categorization, but they failed to monitor how much of those healthy alternatives they actually take in," said Ma. "It's what we call the health halo effect."
Food for thought: Is healthy eating too expensive?
Ma says it might not be a lack of wanting to eat healthier that drives people to unhealthy foods. Instead, the cost of making the switch may be the biggest hurdle. He says some choices come down to issues of education, such as switching from soft drinks to diet drinks or avoiding fruit juices. But he notes that purchasing and consuming more fruits and veggies or organic foods is not an option for consumers in all income brackets. Ma says that lack of access to better nutritional choiceswhich can also be reinforced by what is available from local storesis difficult to overcome. He says people may think middle-class consumers can easily afford to switch, but the price difference from the healthy option to the "next best thing" can be significant once the whole food bill is totalled up.
"If you compare the price of healthy, whole-grain bread versus regular white bread, there's a cost increase between them," he said. "Sometimes, if you have a family to feed, it's hard to justify the price difference."
People first, profit second?
The goal of businesses is to maximize their profit by marketing and selling their product to target groups. However, Ma says, it comes down to an issue of needs and wants, especially when the need to change eating habits is necessary to stay alive. Health should not be at a premium, he says, and if marketers looked at a bigger, socially responsible picture, they may see the many benefits that would come from lowering their prices and making their products available to broader markets. He says companies may make less profit per customer, but making more money overall would go hand in hand with enhanced brand identity and recognition.
"They might have to sacrifice some short-term profit, but once they build up their brand name, and the goodwill in the consumer's mind, then it's a win-win for the customers and the company in the long run."
###
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Paul A. Eisenstein , The Detroit Bureau? ? ?11 hrs.
If your wallet is still hurting from the painfully high fuel prices much of the country experienced over the winter there?s some good news next time you head to the pump.
The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas has dipped to just $3.58, a three-cent dip since late last week, 15 cents from a month ago, and 36 cents off of what the typical American motorist was spending this time in 2012.
That?s a sharp turnaround from February when some states saw gas surge to near or all-time records, particularly along the West Coast.
The Detroit Bureau: Are Wagons Ready for Revival?
Buyers are still paying an average $4.359 in Hawaii and $4.027 in Washington, D.C., but California is back under the $4 mark, at $3.998, according to GasBuddy.com, a fuel price tracking service. And it?s down to $3.286 in Montana ? where motorists are paying just $3.261 in Billings.
Some reports indicate that the price has dropped below the $3 mark in a few Rocky Mountain communities near major refineries. And GasBuddy is forecasting still ?more markets? will dip under that break point in the coming days.
The Detroit Bureau: Fisker Fiasco Worsens
While crude prices posted some gains in early Monday trading, petroleum futures have been in sharp decline for several weeks. One key reason, reports the federal Energy Information Administration is that the country?s inventories are now at a 22-year peak.
The U.S. has been rapidly ramping up oil production for several years and is expected to actually be a larger producer than Saudi Arabia and other OPEC providers by mid-decade. That doesn't necessarily translate into lower prices, as petroleum is traded as a global commodity. But despite concerns about Mideast instability ? notably reductions in production in war-torn Syria ? there appears to be a good supply, if not a glut of the black gold now available around the world.
The Detroit Bureau: Germans May Give UAW Breakthrough Chance to Unionize VW "Transplant"
According to Tom Kloza, chief analyst with the Oil Price Information Service, only a major ?disruption in the Mideast? would likely provoke a sharp spike in fuel prices around the world.
That said, analysts warn that Americans can?t be complacent. Traders continue trying to push up the price of crude. And as U.S. motorists have been seeing, regional spikes are becoming more common. That can follow the changeover from summer to winter fuel blends designed to reduce regional air pollution problems. It can also result from maintenance and other issues, such as those that affected large swaths of the Midwest and Pacific Coast over the last year.
Even in areas where prices top the national charts today, the figures are significantly down from year-ago levels ? when California stood at $4.28 a gallon, for example.
The Detroit Bureau: Ford Reveals Alternatives for F-150
The sudden decline in gas prices may be fueling a shift in the U.S. new car market, meanwhile. Sales of pickups, in particular, surged during March and light trucks outsold passenger cars on the whole, despite recent trends moving in the opposite direction.
Apr. 7, 2013 ? Why does the "65-degree egg" and its "6X?C" counterparts continue to entice chefs and diners at chic restaurants, when the science underpinning that supposed recipe for perfection in boiling an egg is flawed?
It all boils down to the need for greater society-wide understanding of basic scientific concepts, an expert said in New Orleans on April 7 at the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. And in one of the keynote addresses at the meeting, which features almost 12,000 scientific reports, C?sar Vega, Ph.D., explained why cooking ranks as an ideal way of fostering broader awareness about science.
"Cooking is chemistry, and the kitchen is a laboratory," said Vega. "Cooking and food are the single most direct and obvious personal experiences that people have with chemistry. Food is personal. Food is fun! Seemingly simple foods like cookies, fondue and eggs help illustrate key scientific principles. Why are some cookies chewy and others crunchy -- or even better, both at the same time? Why do egg whites whip better if we add cream of tartar? Why does Gruy?re cheese make the perfect fondue? The sights, the smells, the textures of food can help people remember the science."
The fascination by both diners and chefs de cuisine with that "6X?C" egg is a good example, said Vega, who has a Ph.D. in food science, culinary training from Le Cordon Bleu, and is research manager at Mars Botanical, a division of Mars, Incorporated. Vega also co-edited, with Job Ubbink and Erik van der Linden, The Kitchen as Laboratory: Reflections on the Science of Food and Cooking.
Heating an egg may seem like the simplest form of cooking, next to boiling water, Vega pointed out. But the best way of doing so remains a surprisingly contentious issue among great chefs. Eggs are a gastronomic enigma because the ovotransferrin and ovalbumin proteins in the white begin to coagulate or solidify at around 142 and 184 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively. The phosvitins and other egg yolk proteins, however, can start thickening even at temperatures as low as 130 degrees F. So what's the right temperature for the perfect egg?
Vega explained that some professional cooks have taken a relatively new approach by cooking eggs in temperature-controlled water circulators. Using these devices, chefs cook eggs at relatively low temperatures (such as 60 degrees C, or 140 degrees F), for relatively long periods of time (at least 1 hour). And what Vega terms the "6X?C egg" is now ubiquitous on menus in chic restaurants. The "X" varies depending on the cook, but usually is from 0 to 5, such as the "65?C egg." But chefs claim that temperature alone translates into the perfectly cooked egg, and cooking time -- one hour or three hours -- does not matter.
"The idea that cooking time does not matter is nonsense," Vega said, citing research he did and published in the peer-reviewed journal Food Biophysics that debunked the idea. It carefully documented that the texture of a cooked egg yolk depends on both temperature and time. The study gives chefs precise numbers of the time and temperature combinations needed to cook eggs to whatever firmness they want.
Eggs certainly are not the only entry on the menu of scientific misconceptions in the kitchen. Vega pointed out that research published last year challenged time-honored ideas about the browning of sugar, known as caramelization. Everyone thought that sugar had to first melt before undergoing that mouth-watering transformation into caramel. The new research showed, however, that sugar can caramelize when heated while it's still solid.
"It's dismaying to think that so many could be so wrong for so long about what actually happens to such basic ingredients like sugar or eggs during cooking," Vega said. "But it also provides a rare opportunity to rethink the possibilities of the basic, and to communicate accurate information and the fun and excitement of science to the public."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Chemical Society (ACS).
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A new study found that higher levels of mercury exposure in young adults increased their risks for type 2 diabetes later in life by 65 percent. The study, led by Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington epidemiologist Ka He, is the first to establish the link between mercury and diabetes in humans.
The study paints a complicated nutritional picture because the main source of mercury in humans comes from the consumption of fish and shellfish, nearly all of which contain traces of mercury. Fish and shellfish also contain lean protein and other nutrients, such as magnesium and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, that make them important to a healthy diet.
In the study, published online early in the journal Diabetes Care, the people with the highest levels of mercury also appeared to have healthier lifestyles - lower body mass indexes and smaller waist circumferences, more exercise - than other study participants. They also ate more fish, which is a possible marker of healthy diet or higher social economic status. Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include being overweight.
The study, which involved 3,875 men and women, established the link between mercury levels and type 2 diabetes risk after controlling for lifestyle and other dietary factors such as magnesium and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which could counter the effects of the mercury.?
These findings, said He, point to the importance of selecting fish known to have low levels of mercury, such as shrimp, salmon and catfish, and avoiding fish with higher levels, such as swordfish and shark. FDA and EPA guidelines for fish consumption highlight this, particularly for women who are pregnant or of childbearing age and for young children.
?It is likely that the overall health impact of fish consumption may reflect the interactions of nutrients and contaminants in fish. Thus, studying any of these nutrients and contaminants such as mercury should consider confounding from other components in fish,? He and the authors wrote in the study. ?In the current study, the association between mercury exposure and diabetes incidence was substantially strengthened after controlling for intake of LCn-3PUFAs (omega-3) and magnesium.?
The study participants were recruited from Birmingham, Ala., Oakland, Calif., Chicago and Minneapolis,and then followed for 18 years as part of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study. He, chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington, is principal investigator of the ancillary study, the CARDIA Trace Element Study, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Coauthors of ?Mercury Exposure in Young Adulthood and Incidence of Diabetes Later in Life,? are Pengcheng Xun, IU School of Public Health-Bloomington; Kiang Liu, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University; Steve Morris, Research Reactor Center, University of Missouri-Columbia, and Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital; Jared Reis, Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; and Eliseo Guallar, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.
For a copy of the study or to speak with He, contact Tracy James, 812-855-0084 and .
IU School of Public Health-Bloomington
With nearly 3,000 students in an array of undergraduate and advanced degree programs, the School of Public Health-Bloomington offers a traditional campus experience enriched by 21st-century innovation. More than 120 faculty in five academic departments - Department of Kinesiology; Department of Applied Health Science; Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Studies; Department of Environmental Health; and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics - conduct major research, teach and engage with communities across a broad spectrum of health, wellness and disease-prevention topics. Each department offers numerous majors, minors and opportunities for graduate and undergraduate studies. In addition to its academic departments, the school administers Campus Recreational Sports, which serves roughly 80 percent of the IU Bloomington student body through various intramural, club and individual sports opportunities.
### Tracy James IU Communications 812-855-0084
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This undated photo provided by Tom Smedinghoff, shows Anne Smedinghoff. Anne Smedinghoff, 25, was killed Saturday, April 6, 2013 in southern Afghanistan , the first American diplomat to die on the job since last year's attack on the U.S. diplomatic installation in Benghazi, Libya. (AP Photo/Tom Smedinghoff)
This undated photo provided by Tom Smedinghoff, shows Anne Smedinghoff. Anne Smedinghoff, 25, was killed Saturday, April 6, 2013 in southern Afghanistan , the first American diplomat to die on the job since last year's attack on the U.S. diplomatic installation in Benghazi, Libya. (AP Photo/Tom Smedinghoff)
This undated photo provided by Tom Smedinghoff, shows Anne Smedinghoff. Anne Smedinghoff, 25, was killed Saturday, April 6, 2013 in southern Afghanistan , the first American diplomat to die on the job since last year's attack on the U.S. diplomatic installation in Benghazi, Libya. (AP Photo/Tom Smedinghoff)
This image made from AP video shows Afghan National Army soldier rushing to the scene moments after a car bomb exploded in front the PRT, Provincial Reconstruction Team, in Qalat, Zabul province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, April 6, 2013. Six American troops and civilians and an Afghan doctor were killed in attacks on Saturday in southern and eastern Afghanistan as the U.S. military's top officer began a weekend visit to the country, officials said. (AP Photo via AP video)
CHICAGO (AP) ? The family of an American diplomat who was among those killed in a terrorist attack in southern Afghanistan has taken solace in knowing she died doing what she loved.
Anne Smedinghoff, the first American diplomat to die on the job since last year's attack in Benghazi, Libya, was one of five Americans killed Saturday in a suicide car bombing while they were delivering textbooks to school children. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
The 25-year-old suburban Chicago woman was remembered as having a quiet ambition and displayed a love of global affairs from an early age. She joined the U.S. Foreign Service straight out of college and volunteered for missions in perilous locations worldwide.
"It was a great adventure for her ... She loved it," her father, Tom Smedinghoff, told The Associated Press on Sunday. "She was tailor-made for this job."
Anne Smedinghoff grew up in River Forest, Ill. ? an upscale suburb about 10 miles west of Chicago ? the daughter of an attorney and the second of four children. She attended the highly selective Fenwick High School, followed by Johns Hopkins University, where she majored in international studies and became a key organizer of the university's annual Foreign Affairs Symposium in 2008. The event draws high-profile speakers from around the world.
Those who knew Smedinghoff described her as a positive, hard-working and dependable young woman.
While a student in Baltimore, she worked part time for Sam Hopkins, an attorney near campus. He described her as ambitious "but in a wonderfully quiet, modest way."
Her first assignment for the foreign service was in Caracas, Venezuela, and she volunteered for the Afghanistan assignment after that. Her father said family members would tease her about signing up for a less dangerous location, maybe London or Paris.
"She said, 'What would I do in London or Paris? It would be so boring,'" her father recalled. In her free time, she would travel as much as possible, her father said.
Smedinghoff was an up-and-coming employee of the State Department who garnered praise from the highest ranks. She was to finish her Afghanistan assignment as a press officer in July. Already fluent in Spanish, she was gearing up to learn Arabic, first for a year in the U.S. and then in Cairo, before a two-year assignment in Algeria.
Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday at a news conference in Turkey that Smedinghoff was "vivacious, smart" and "capable." Smedinghoff had assisted Kerry during a visit to Afghanistan two weeks ago.
He also described Smedinghoff as "a selfless, idealistic woman who woke up yesterday morning and set out to bring textbooks to school children, to bring them knowledge."
Her father said they knew the assignments were dangerous, though she spent most of her time at the U.S. Embassy compound. Trips outside were in heavily armored convoys ? as was Saturday's trip that killed five Americans, including Smedinghoff. The U.S. Department of Defense did not release the names of the others who died: three soldiers and one employee.
"It's like a nightmare, you think will go away and it's not," he said. "We keep saying to ourselves, we're just so proud of her, we take consolation in the fact that she was doing what she loved."
Friends remembered her Sunday for her charity work too.
Smedinghoff participated in a 2009 cross-country bike ride for The 4K for Cancer ? part of the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults ? according to the group. She served on the group's board of directors after the ride from Baltimore to San Francisco.
"She was an incredible young woman. She was always optimistic," said Ryan Hanley, a founder of the group. "She always had a smile on her face and incredible devotion to serving others."
Johns Hopkins officials mourned her death in a letter on Sunday to students, faculty and alumni. Smedinghoff graduated in 2009. In the letter, University President Ronald J. Daniels praised her work on the symposium, her involvement in her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, and her involvement outside campus too.
"Her selfless action for others was nothing new," he wrote.
Funeral arrangements for Smedinghoff are pending.
___
Contact Sophia Tareen at https://www.twitter.com/sophiatareen .
Red has announced that Dragon sensor updates will start tomorrow for Epic-M and Epic-X owners and, interestingly, is letting owners (and the public) see the operation for themselves at its NAB booth. The new sensor will bring 6K resolution, 120 fps at 5K and 15+ stops of dynamic range in a slightly larger format, according to Red. Early adopters will be able to pre-order now for $8,500, while Epic owners who wait until Thursday or later will be able to grab the update for $9,500. Filmmakers hoping for a new Epic-M with the Dragon instead of the Mysterium-X sensor will be able to pre-order tomorrow for $29,000 or so. Meanwhile, there's good news for those with the more budget-minded Scarlet -- they'll be able to upgrade to the Epic directly or get a 6k Dragon sensor and ASICs, with pricing details coming tomorrow and pre-orders launching on Thursday. Red may have a tough row to hoe with recent NAB news from the likes of BlackMagic Design and Vision Systems, but how many companies will actually let you watch your camera get operated on? Check the source for more.
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) ? An African leopard tortoise thought to be stolen from an Iowa museum was actually trapped behind paneling in her enclosure, and a misguided employee who found her lied to keep up the story about her theft, the museum announced Friday.
In a bizarre move, the employee who found the 18-pound reptile named Cashew put her into a building elevator in an attempt to prevent the museum further embarrassment, said Jerry Enzler, president and CEO of the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium in Dubuque.
The tortoise was found alone in a museum elevator on Thursday, two days after the museum had discovered she was missing and announced that she had been stolen. Museum officials told media outlets Thursday that they believed a regretful thief had smuggled her back inside.
But several hours later, a museum employee came forward and told the truth: Cashew was never stolen.
"The action taken by the employee Thursday afternoon was wrong and is not reflective of the integrity of the staff who dedicate themselves to the highest of Museum & Aquarium standards," Enzler said in a statement Friday.
Enzler said the employee, whose name and position has not been released, will be reprimanded. He said it was a personal issue and did not provide any additional information.
Cashew is one of six large tortoises on display in the enclosure. A 4-foot glass wall separates visitors from the creatures.
Enzler said the notion of a stolen tortoise grabbed national attention.
"The idea that someone may steal a tortoise was so disturbing, and I think people responded to that," he said.
He's just glad the tortoise is in good health, and he said staff is reviewing the enclosures.
"It has good karma to know Cashew wasn't stolen and someone didn't violate the museum and its exhibit," he said. "I think it restores our faith in humanity to know someone didn't take the animal."
The 9-year-old tortoise will be back on display Saturday.
FILE - In this Dec. 7, 2009 file photo, then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stands with Vice President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. As Hillary Rodham Clinton?s supporters urge her to run for president in 2016, the former first lady/senator/secretary of state makes her first public appearance since leaving government. Many Democrats see Clinton as the party?s early front-runner, and some want her to signal her interest soon to lock down donors and supporters. Fueling the 2016 chatter: Vice President Joe Biden, another possible candidate, will speak at the same awards ceremony. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
FILE - In this Dec. 7, 2009 file photo, then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stands with Vice President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. As Hillary Rodham Clinton?s supporters urge her to run for president in 2016, the former first lady/senator/secretary of state makes her first public appearance since leaving government. Many Democrats see Clinton as the party?s early front-runner, and some want her to signal her interest soon to lock down donors and supporters. Fueling the 2016 chatter: Vice President Joe Biden, another possible candidate, will speak at the same awards ceremony. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Hillary Rodham Clinton stayed on safe political ground Tuesday, advocating women's rights globally in a 12-minute speech, but that was enough to excite fans imploring the former first lady, senator and secretary of state to run again for president three years from now.
Clinton, perhaps as popular as ever in her 22 years in national politics, said she has "unwavering faith in the untapped potential of women and girls." She spoke at the Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards, at Washington's Kennedy Center. The event, highlighting efforts such as expanding education for girls and fighting domestic violence worldwide, marked her first public speech since ending her much-praised stint as secretary of state.
As members of the group Ready for Hillary cheered outside, the 2016 political buzz was inevitable. Vice President Joe Biden ? another potential Democratic candidate ? spoke later at the same event.
If Clinton has any jealousy, she didn't show it. She praised Biden effusively, especially for his role in Congress' recent renewal of the Violence Against Women Act.
Biden returned the compliment a half-hour later, after Clinton had left the stage, telling the mostly female audience of more than 2,000 that "there's no woman like Hillary Clinton."
Biden said Clinton's declaration in China nearly two decades ago ? "Women's rights are human rights," she said at the time ? "still echoes forcefully around the world." Women everywhere, he said, "are entitled to every single opportunity that any man is."
Clinton, 65, has said she has no plans for a second presidential bid, but she hasn't ruled it out. Democrats argue among themselves whether she has the desire and energy to go through the grueling campaign process she knows so well. But many see her as a prohibitive favorite whose head start would be so big that other potential candidates might starve for funds and attention.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll in January found that 67 percent of Americans held a favorable view of Clinton. That's her highest rating since the poll began measuring her popularity in the 1990s. It spans her eight years in the Senate.
"It's hard to overstate the breadth and depth of enthusiasm for a Hillary run," said Doug Hattaway, a former Clinton campaign aide and now a Washington-based consultant. She built a national base of supporters in 2008, when she lost a hard-fought nomination fight to Barack Obama, and she's widely respected after her turn heading the State Department, Hattaway said.
"A lot of donors, volunteers and potential campaign workers will wait to hear what she decides before committing to other candidates," he said, although "anyone with their eye on 2016 is already working on it."
Mo Elleithee, a top spokesman for Clinton's 2008 campaign, said it's much too early to press her for an answer.
"My advice to everyone is to chill out," Elleithee said. "There's no need for all this breathless anticipation at this point," he said, and political activists should focus on next year's mid-term elections.
Noting that Clinton said she has no intention of running, he said, "I think that's where her head is." But he said he shares "the enthusiasm" for a Clinton candidacy.
There may be no one in America with a clearer view of what it takes to run for president.
Clinton was a highly visible adviser and defender of her husband, Bill, then the Arkansas governor, when he was elected president in 1992 in 1996. Her eight years as first lady included the excruciating Monica Lewinsky scandal and her husband's impeachment.
On the same day her husband's successor was elected, Clinton handily won a Senate seat from New York. She breezed to re-election in 2006 and was the early favorite for the 2008 presidential nomination.
But Obama used his early opposition to the Iraq war, plus a keen understanding of how to win small states' delegates, to outmaneuver the Clinton team. Obama promptly tapped his former rival to be secretary of state, assuring Clinton another prime post at the center of national policy and politics.
Some Democrats want the party to look to younger candidates, noting that Clinton will turn 69 shortly before Election Day 2016, and Biden will turn 74 soon after. Those drawing notice include New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, 55, and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, 50.
As runner-up in the 2008 Democratic primary, Clinton arguably is the party's heir apparent. Republicans, not Democrats, typically nominate the next-in-line contender.
With the early GOP presidential picture wildly scrambled, it's possible that Republicans will tap a newer, younger nominee while Democrats consider one of the nation's best-known figures, and certainly the most high-profile female politician.
Clinton is scheduled to speak Friday at the Women in the World Summit in New York.
Stocks kicked off the second quarter on a sour note Monday following a weaker-than-expected ISM manufacturing report and as investors took a breather after the S&P 500 finally broke through its record close last week.
The S&P 500's decline marks the first time since the fourth quarter of 2011 that the index has been down on the first trading day of a quarter.
(Read More: Second Quarter Begins, Markets Are Slightly Defensive)
"It's unlikely that the first quarter is going to repeat itself in the second quarter," said Stephen Wood, chief market strategist at Russell Investments. "We're right at our numbers...so right about here, [we expect] some volatility to the end of the year. There seems to be a mismatch between fundamentals and sentiment and momentum."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended in the red, dragged by Intel and Alcoa.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed lower. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, jumped near 14.
Despite the weak session, April has traditionally been the best month of the year for equities, posting an average monthly gain of 2.7 percent in the last 20 years. Also, the Dow hasn't logged a decline in April since 2005.
(Read More: After April Showers, Market Could Bounce Back)
Most key S&P sectors finished in the red, led by industrials and materials.
The S&P 500 pierced through its 2007 closing high level of 1,565.15 last Thursday, recovering all its losses from the financial crisis. The next milestone for the index is its all-time intraday high of 1,576.09, set on October 11, 2007.
Meanwhile, the Dow surged more than 11 percent in the first three months of the year, posting its strongest quarter since 1998.
Strategists say a strong first-quarter performance usually implies a bullish year.
"Since 1945, whenever the S&P 500 recorded a positive performance in the first quarter, the average performance for the three remaining quarters improved by an average 1.2, 1.1, and 0.4 percentage points, respectively," wrote Sam Stovall, chief equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ, "In addition, the entire rest of the year saw its average return of 6.1 percent rise to 8.9 percent, or be improved upon by 2.8 percentage points."
But following the strong quarter, some strategists say investors should brace for a correction in the short term.
"Traders and investors should continue to keep an ear open for any new developments related to the events in Cyprus, even though the panic and contagion was largely contained when the banks reopened last week," according to Randy Frederick, managing director of active trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab, "From a technical standpoint, the S&P 500 is likely to consolidate around the old record high of 1,565 in the near-term, and any weakness would likely find support near 1,546."
Trading was on the lighter side as most European and some Asian markets, including Hong Kong and Australia, remained closed for Easter.
(Read More: Cramer: 3 Threats to Market Rally)
On the economic front, the manufacturing sector unexpectedly slowed in March, with the index falling to 51.3, missing expectations for 54.2, according to a Reuters poll. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.
Meanwhile, construction spending rebounded in February, rising 1.2 percent to an annual rate of $885.1 billion, according to the Commerce Department, signaling faster economic growth in the first quarter. Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected a gain of 1 percent, compared with a 2.1 percent drop in January.
Among techs, Apple declined after CEO Tim Cook apologized on the company's Chinese website for confusion over its warranty policy following heavy criticism in the Chinese media of its after-sales service. Apple said it has "improved" its repair policy for the iPhone 4 and 4S models in China, and plans to increase the "supervision and training" of authorized service providers.
Separately, Fidelity's Contrafund revealed that rival Google has replaced the iPhone maker as the firm's largest holding, according to a filing. Shares of Google have outperformed Apple over the past year by about 50 percent.
Ebay climbed after the online auction company said it expected annual earnings growth of 15 percent to 19 percent over the next three years, and is targeting an increase in revenue of as much as 68 percent for the period. At least six brokerages raised their price target on the company.
Novartis declined after the pharmaceutical company lost an attempt to win patent protection for its cancer drug Glivec in India.
Tesla Motors zoomed higher after the maker of electric cars said sales of its Model S topped expectations set in February, leading to a change in its first-quarter guidance to full profitability. Investors will also be watching for "really exciting" news due Tuesday, following last week's tweets from CEO Elon Musk.
Later this week, the ISM services sector report will be posted on Wednesday and the closely watched non-farm payrolls report will be released on Friday.
(Read More: Will the Jobs Report Keep the Bulls Running?)
?By CNBC's JeeYeon Park (Follow JeeYeon on Twitter: @JeeYeonParkCNBC)
We might have spent a few hours toying with Samsung's new mobile hardware, but some tinkerers over at XDA-Developers claim have had enough time to root the Galaxy S 4, already. This means those (very) early adopters might be able to peruse the inner workings as soon as it arrives on store shelves. There's a video of the process after the break and you can pick up all the necessary custom ROM files (and warnings of not to meddle with what you do not understand) at the source. There is one tiny caveat to the news, however, as the rooting magic is focused squarely on the Exynos 5 Octa model for now. According to SAM Mobile, several batches of the new Galaxy phone are rumored to be packing Qualcomm's Snapdragon 600 instead of Samsung's homemade chip series. An official spokesperson from the UK branch has confirmed that it'll arrive in the there with the Snapdragon processor.
Update: Perhaps we were a little too zealous. Notable smartphone tinkerer Chainfire has taken to Google Plus to note that this would be a pretty huge accomplishment given the limited number of handsets currently out there. Most of the XDA-Developers thread details custom ROMs, while the Galaxy S 4 apparently has a few extra tricks to slow down the rooting process. Read Chainfire's full breakdown in More Coverage. Apologies for any confusion.
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Public release date: 10-Apr-2013
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